Job Hunting With A Hearing Loss

If you have a hearing loss and are job seeking, you may be wondering what you need to do to land the job successfully. When seeking a job, it is essential to put the hearing loss to the side and realize that to get hired you must be the best candidate for the position. Despite being hearing impaired, you must do what the other candidates are doing to prepare for the job. You will need the right tools in place as well as an understanding of your hearing loss. It is essential to understand what work accommodations will work for you and how to go about getting them. Here is advice to help you with your next job hunt.

Filling Out The Application

When applying for jobs, make sure you pick ones for which you are qualified. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 makes discrimination against any qualified employee with disabilities unlawful. Ask yourself if you can perform the essential functions of the job and if your experience qualifies you for the work. A job announcement will probably list the crucial tasks of a job, or it will come up in the job interview discussion. If not, ask! What skills does the job require? Be sure you have the expertise to perform the essential functions. Check out www.ada.gov for multiple resources to help you.

When To Tell A Prospective Employer Of Your Hearing Loss

An employer is not allowed to ask you about medical conditions or make your employment contingent upon passing a medical exam. It is your decision when to discuss your hearing loss with an employer. Please understand that an employer can ask if you can perform the job duties with or without accommodation. When you do decide to speak to the employer, here are a few tips that may help you:

• If you are involved in a telephone interview and use phone captioning, tell the prospective employer about possible response delays.
• You will need to disclose your hearing loss if you require CART or a sign language interpreter.
• If you believe you will need accommodations for the job to participate in meetings, phone calls, or other work tasks, inform the employer at the job interview.
• Having a positive attitude and being comfortable with your hearing loss may give you an advantage during an interview as you display a can-do attitude which employers value.

Use Your Strengths

If you have a hearing loss, try to avoid any job that may emphasize your limitations. Even if an employer will make reasonable accommodations, try to find jobs that need minimal accommodations. Does the job require functioning as a team? If this is the situation, try to locate work where all team members are in one place as opposed to using teleconferences. Avoid those jobs that are carried out in noisy environments unless it will benefit your job performance.
Don’t make an apology for your hearing loss and don’t dwell on it. Instead, keep the focus on what you can do for the employer and how you can be a tremendous asset to their company. Remember, the employer is trying to imagine you as a part of their work team. It is up to you to make sure they see you and your talents and not your hearing loss.